A technical problem presently exists in the development and efficient use of content and knowledge data which is effective in the development of sales and marketing campaigns, improving operational efficiency and publishing, and effective in supporting revenue generating electronic transactions. Content management involves the storage and processing of any type of data fragment. A data fragment might include a bit of text, a document, presentation, image, audio file, video file, etc. In essence, any discrete electronic file can be stored and managed as a piece of meaningful content. Types of content that must be managed include documents and digital files—as well as formalized knowledge. The processes for managing these items are generally common to document management, digital asset management, and knowledge management. These terms-document management and digital asset management—and relationships to content management are described in more detail below.
Over the last several months, there has been a significant increase in demand for content management solutions. This demand is driven by several factors in the marketplace:
Content management is being recognized as critical to efficiently and effectively supporting and operating publication process and supporting commerce in the current economy. Content management is also being recognized as playing a key role in electronic and on-line learning.The amount of content in enterprises is increasing dramatically, as is the demand for more efficient management of content. (Gartner Group States that: By 2002, escalating costs of managing Web content and components will drive more than 80 percent of Global 2,000 enterprise sites to purchase packages or build applications to automate these functions (0.8 probability).The demand for point and place of time delivery of content in a consistent and personalized fashion across multiple channels is increasing. (Gartner Group states that: By 2004, leading-edge enterprises will have formal content management (business processes and integrated technology) in place for Web, inter-enterprise and intra-enterprise environments (0.8 probability). The tremendous increase in demand we are seeing for content management skills is in keeping with these projections.The number and capabilities of packaged software and application platforms supporting efficient and effective content management is increasing.
There are a number of companies which now offer solutions to portions of the problem of content management and distribution. For example:
eBusiness Technologies™ (a Division of Inso™ Corp.) Now Advertises its “engenda” Product as Follows:
Leveraging ten years of experience in developing standards-based content management systems for the corporate marketplace, eBusiness Technologies' engenda is a turnkey, XML-enabled content management and workflow automation solution created to support ongoing Internet, intranet, and extranet requirements. Designed for rapid deployment and easy operation, engenda integrates with existing data communications infrastructures and e-business/eCommerce application servers. Intended for mid- to large-sized organizations, engenda is a flexible, collaborative solution for building and sustaining business-critical Web projects.
Vignette™ Corp Advertises its Vignette V/5 E-Business Platform as Follows:
The Vignette V/5 E-business Platform provides a proven, enterprise-ready architectural foundation that powers many of the largest and most successful e-business applications today. It is unique in providing a modular and reusable e-business applications framework that helps you respond and adapt quickly to changing market demands. It leverages your existing IT investment in open standards, component models, technical skills, and best practices. The V/5 E-business Platform provides a scalable, reliable, and high-performance foundation for delivering content, profiling, and managing interactions across multiple communication channels such as the Web, pagers, mobile phones, and e-mail.
Documentum™ Corp Advertises its Documentum 4I eBusiness System Which Includes its Dynamic Content Assembly Manager (DCA) as Follows:
DCA is the eBusiness tool offering intelligent content assembly and publishing to power your most valuable customer and partner connections. With it, you can gain a valuable advantage from accelerating the creation and delivery of reliable, personalized content that will reduce the costs and risks of eBusiness.
Documentum Dynamic Content Assembler (DCA) automates the routine, labor-intensive tasks of creating and publishing content. As the industry's premier content assembly and publishing solution, DCA lets you securely manage all your content and personalize it for delivery to the Web and, through the Documentum Open Content Architecture (OCA), to a printer, CD, fax, e-mail, cellular phone, or PDA device. This is a significant advance from first-generation content management systems, which do not offer the same level of personalization and publishing capabilities and require extensive programming for all but simple modifications.
DCA automates routine tasks such as dynamic assembly and delivery of trusted content. Through an advanced framework that makes use of software agents, DCA lets you quickly create and publish all kinds of valuable content, within and between companies, with fewer errors. This content can contain standard sections that can be reused in many ways, and tailored to the specific requirements of your customers and business partners.
DCA is based upon Documentum's Internet-scale content repository that manages all content as well as the related workflows and attributes for personalization. With DCA, content can be pulled directly out of the repository and dynamically assembled into Web pages tailored to the interests and preferences of specific customers and partners to guarantee high-impact and scalable Web publishing.                DCA delivers its unique capabilities through three main processes: load, build, and publish. The load agent provides methods for gathering information to be included as part of the content. The build agent selects the correct virtual content template and builds the new content based on these templates. The publish agent performs the final processing of the new documents. It merges sections together and includes the appropriate client information as part of the final content. The user, or a system application, submits a request. The load agent picks up this request and queues it to the build agent.        The build agent selects a Virtual Document Management template, which contains the rules for when each component should be copied into the new document. The build agent will create a new virtual document and link in the documents. Also associated with the template is a configuration object, which identifies where the documents will be stored in the repository. The build agent processes this structure and creates a new document. The build agent then passes the new document to the publish agent. The publish agent publishes the documents. It merges the sections, runs mail merge and optionally creates a PDF rendition. The final documents are now available for the end user to review.        
Knowledge-based assembly—Using Documentum's rules-based Virtual Document Management capability, DCA delivers enterprise-wide, knowledge-based content assembly that enables content to be shared between many templates. Of equal importance, your staff can maintain and modify the content in a strict and auditable way without any programming, and apply compliance rules, style, and variable substitution on a global scale.
Cost and risk reduction—DCA dramatically reduces the costs of generating tailored content while maintaining editorial control over the content. The result is lower costs and risks.
Ease of use—Users can continue to use their existing desktop tools for content creation. Using a simple point-and-click interface, users can easily build templates that contain conditional sections.
Automated data access and process flow—Client information held in existing database systems can be automatically incorporated with the documents at publish time. In addition, DCA automates many of the approval processes needed to approve client communications.
Black Pearl™ Inc. Advertises its Knowledge Broker as Follows:
The Knowledge Broker is an e-markets intelligence platform that matches customer interests with seller expertise at the moment of contact, with full consideration of buyer and seller goals, preferences, behaviors, and market context.
Using intelligent agents distributed across an asynchronous, federated server architecture, the Black Pearl Knowledge Broker reads data as needed from existing enterprise databases and the internet, then converts the data into intelligent recommendations through the application of business rules. The rules are constructed using ordinary terms already used by the enterprise, and they can be changed on-the-fly by a business user keeping maintenance costs low and responsiveness high.
These products and related systems are but a few of a number of similar products now offered to businesses to address the general “Content Management and Delivery” problem. While these products address specific parts of the general problem and indeed can be used as third party tools/assets in a specific solution to the general problem, they do not address or solve several key areas of need for successful overall content management and delivery solutions. The present invention is a unique, automated approach to determining with business partners, more exactly, the needs of a business situation. The content management and delivery framework described more fully below, and the supporting methods aid in critical discussion and analysis of content management needs. The framework lays out related areas that should be involved in content management implementation efforts (e.g., content development, content assembly, knowledge management, campaign planing and implementation.) Whereas the products and providers described earlier assist with addressing certain content management needs, this method, framework, key considerations and processes address the up-front steps of assessing/determining specific needs and planning specific implementation approaches.
A number of companies have expressed a desire for such a coordinated, web-based content management and delivery system. For example, Accenture LLP™ (assignee of this invention) submitted a conceptual design of such a system in a confidential response to a confidential Request for Proposal (RFP) in November 1999. The RFP solicited bids for a Marketing Content Management, Output Production and E-Business project. The Accenture bid was not selected and the system proposed has since been discussed with potential clients on a confidential basis during the period from February through June 2000.
Most often when the term “content management” is used, it refers to the “storage and management of any type of data fragment, and the distribution of this content to one or more channels.” (Channels being, for example, the WWW, voice, mobile devices.) The distribution of content must be personalized and consistent across all channels. In order to deliver content through these channels in a meaningful fashion, it must be done in accordance with a formal campaign. Campaigns may be literally marketing or publishing campaigns, or simply structured approaches to delivering content in a meaningful way. Therefore, campaign management and execution is an important component of an overall “content management” solution.
Throughout the process of managing content, knowledge and insights must be managed and applied as well. Knowledge management is the process of transforming ideas into business value. These ideas will drive the development of campaigns and content to be delivered through the channels. (Formalized knowledge may also be delivered through the content delivery process, as this knowledge is in the form of data files or fragments.)
There is a need in the art for a system for enabling assessment of needs, planning, analysis, and development of implementation approaches for bringing together processes and enabling technologies for campaign management, content management and delivery, and integrating knowledge management, whereby targeted content can be delivered to clients in order to acquire, retain, and grow profitable relationships with customers or businesses in the value chain. Proper planning, assessment, and implementation of solutions based on defined key processes and considerations will deliver such operational and planning efficiency. Such content management considerations and processes are applicable to the management and delivery of learning or educational material, marketing material, human resources information, formalized knowledge, product information, electronic learning and training, news and articles, to name just a few areas.